News

Panera expanding dinner menu pilot to 9 stores

June 19, 2019

After testing a dinner menu at a Jacksonville, Florida location, Panera Bread is expanding its dinner menu pilot to nine stores in Lexington, Kentucky in July.

The strategy comes a few months after the brand expanded its breakfast menu and enhanced coffee options, according to a CNBC report.

Panera hopes to boost its late day and evening sales as dinner purchases amount to one-third of total sales, with lunch purchases accounting for about 60 percent.

"We stepped back about a year ago ... to say, 'Over the next five years, where are we going to grow? Where are we going to get most of our value creation?'" Dan Wegiel, Panera’s chief growth and strategy officer, told CNBC.

The dinner menu selections include pizza, bowls and heftier meat sandwiches as well as vegetable sides.